Are you a “knower” or a “learner?”
Here’s how to tell the difference. A “knower” lives in the past. A “learner” is moving into the future. Another way to portray it is that “knowers” talk, “learners” listen.
We all are familiar with someone who “knows” it all. No matter the topic - from world geography to political nuance - they chime in with facts, opinions and trivia that leave no room for conversation. One buddy described it as if people carry around scripts in their head on every topic, ready to unleash one at the even the most tangential moment.
“Knowers” show up in all walks of life. The stereotype is the old fellow who remembers how it was in the good old days, when he walked to school in the snow, uphill both ways. A more insidious type is the quintessential salesman who won’t stop talking. Back in my selling days, I have been in meetings with account executives afraid to appear not to know everything. They filibuster the conversation, drowning everyone with all they can do to serve the clients.
I learned something on one of my first sales visits. We went into a meeting with a large potential client. After listening to their marketing director describe the company’s current campaign, I stood up and announced, “I’m not sure you really need us. You have a perfectly adequate situation.”
I can’t say who was more startled - my account executive or the client. After a pause, the client said two things: 1) I’ve never had a vendor say that before, and 2) You get the account.
She was impressed by my honesty, but more important, by my ability to listen. We sat back down, probed deeper, and came up with award-winning campaigns and a relationship that went on for years.
The point is that I was willing to learn - to learn more about my client’s needs. Those types of learners are the people I meet walking into our doors day after day. They come in all ages. We had the 80-something retired engineer who decided to learn how to weld. I am just as impressed by the 18-year-old college student who enrolled in a Spanish conversation class to supplement her language studies at Schreiner University. Now that’s a learner.
So now is the time to ask yourself what type of person you are - a knower or a learner?
If you are a learner, we have a class for you.
If you are a knower... well... maybe you can teach a class.
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For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.
Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter@clubedtx.
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